my niblings are 5 and 6 respectively. they like to read and be read to and I would like to get some books to help foster their enjoyment of reading as they grow up - so ideally stuff that’s not too challenging but still good for fostering young imaginations. obviously sneaky subversive themes are welcome - the sneakier the better, I kinda suspect their dad leans chud.
A wizard of Earthsea. Might be a tad old for them but not by much and Usula K Le Guin is super based.
Also A Wrinkle in Time was a favorite of mine when I was a kid
I literally came to recommend A Wizard of Earthsea. I think it would maybe be a little hard for someone of that age to read on their own, but if an adult is reading it to them I think they’d love it.
Just don’t let Dad read the author’s notes, she’s pretty explicitly based in those.
Props to earthsea, the first one in particular is very accessible.
Came here to say this. The second book, Tombs of Atuan, is also very evocative and has extremely accessible and explicit themes about the exploitation and isolation of fem people. The Hainish Cycle books are also uniformly awesome and Important Reads for themes like racial politics, gender politics, ecopolitics, anti-colonialism, and revolution. Left Hand of Darkness may be a bit heavy on direct sex talk for young-young kids, but if you’re reading to them it’s fairly easy to elide some details without losing much.